Muslim Women’s Research & Action Forum (MWRAF) is partnering with the Search for Common Grounds (SFCG) in the implementation of the project ‘Young Women as Drivers of Peace –Providing 360 support to emerging women leaders’ in the district of Amparai.

This project attempts to develop capacity through context- understanding, conflict- transformation, building leadership, and organization & risk management. The focus is on young women as peace builders/promoters and shifting the power balance to determine peace outcomes as active change agents.

The orientation program for the selection of the young women leaders were held in Amparai on the 25th & 26th of June 2020. Out of the 60 application received; 40 Young women leaders were finally selected for the next leadership trainings. In this selected group there is a good mix of ethnicities, with age ranging from 18 years to 29 years.

The first leadership training held at the Sarvodaya Training Centre Sathurukondan Batticaloa, on the 17th & 18th August 2020, as a 2 day residential program. The Second leadership training was conducted on an online platform, due to the current pandemic on the 21st to 26th December 2020 in 2 phases.

10 mentors have been selected to guide these young women leaders in carrying out their projects in the latter stages of the project. Several mentors were introduced to the young women leaders during the second leadership training.

This flow chart depicts the stages of the project that MWRAF will undertake under this project.